China and Russia on Thursday blocked a US push to impose United Nations sanctions on five North Koreans in response to recent missile launches by Pyongyang, as Pyongyang suggested it may resume tests of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles, media agencies reported quoting diplomats as saying.
At an emergency council meeting on the North’s four ballistic missile launches in the last two weeks, the United States called on the 15 council members to approve a brief press statement recalling that such launches violate council resolutions and strongly urging Pyongyang to comply with its council obligations “and to engage in dialogue towards denuclearization.”
Diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity because the council meeting was closed, said China, a neighbor, and ally of North Korea, opposed any statement, AP news reports.
On Thursday before the meeting started, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations announced a joint statement on behalf of the U.S. and seven other countries after multiple North Korean ballistic missile tests this month.
U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield read a statement to reporters from eight countries calling North Korea’s “unlawful behavior … a threat to international peace and security.”
Albania, Brazil, France, Ireland, Japan, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States called on our fellow Council members to be unified in condemning the DPRK for its acts in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
“These launches demonstrate the regime’s determination to pursue weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs at all costs, including at the expense of its own people,” seven council members said in a joint statement at the United Nations.
“We urge the 1718 Committee to proactively support implementation of the Security Council resolutions addressing the DPRK. This includes sanctions designations for those contributing to the DPRK’s unlawful weapons programs, like those the United States proposed last week,” the statement reads.
According to Reuters, the test on Monday was North Korea’s fourth in 2022, with two previous launches involving “hypersonic missiles” capable of high speed and maneuvering after liftoff, and another test using a pair of short-range missiles fired from train cars.
The DPRK’s missile launches prompted Washington to unilaterally sanction six North Koreans for working in support of the country’s weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile-related programs.
“It is extremely important that Member States take the necessary steps to implement the sanctions in their jurisdictions, or risk providing a blank check for the DPRK regime to advance its weapons program,” according to the statement.
The U.N. Security Council initially imposed sanctions on North Korea after its first nuclear test in 2006 and made them tougher in response to further nuclear tests and an increasingly sophisticated ballistic missile program. In 2018, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said the sanctions had cut off all North Korean exports and 90% of its trade and disbanded the pool of workers which North Korea sent abroad to earn hard currency — but Pyongyang has managed to evade some measures.
(With inputs from agencies)
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